Kuwait City: Stock markets in the energy-rich Gulf end 2010 mixed, with strong oil prices and the decision to award Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup offset by financial shockwaves in Europe.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman ended the year in positive territory but Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates' Dubai and Abu Dhabi and Bahrain finished in the red, with Dubai topping the list.
All seven markets fluctuated in 2010, particularly in the second quarter, impacted by major economic developments as they tried to recover from the global economic crisis.
All made gains in the second half, tracking oil price movements which breached $90 (Dh330.30) a barrel.
The Arab states in the Gulf sit on about 45 per cent of global oil reserves and around a fifth of natural gas deposits, and they pump around 15 million barrels a day, or 18 per cent of world oil supplies. The seven bourses added around $90 billion to their capitalisation which ended the year at $770 billion, according to the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund.
That is still far below their end-2007 value of $1.116 trillion, however.
Higher oil prices have boosted revenues and subsequently increased the Gulf nations' domestic spending and savings in their sovereign wealth funds. Qatar Exchange, formerly Doha Securities Market, led Gulf gainers to end the year up by an impressive 24.8 per cent at 8,681.65, with more than half of that in the fourth quarter.
At half year, Qatar had dropped slightly below 2009's close, but it made a remarkable recovery in the second half on the back of a booming economy and winning the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
Capitalisation
Qatar Exchange capitalisation rose by around $40 billion to end the year at $123 billion. In 2009, Qatar Exchange index rose by just 1.06 per cent.
The Saudi Tadawul All-Shares Index (TASI), the most capitalised Arab bourse, ended 8.15 per cent higher at 6,620.75 for the second year in a row after slumping 56.5 per cent in 2008 because of the economic downturn.
TASI was carried on the back of market-leading petrochemicals sector, which includes giant Sabic, that gained 20.8 per cent and banks which added 6.7 per cent. Sabic alone was 27 per cent higher.
